Petition of support for underfire Bridport Mayor Ros Kayes

The online petition was set up in response to another campaign calling for Ros Kayes to stand down from her role, as reported in last week’s Bridport News. The initial campaign was critical of comments the mayor made on social media following the EU referendum result.

Ms Kayes has apologised for any offence caused by the comments – but claimed her account was hacked and her privacy settings changed.

The petition in support of the mayor was set up by Rich Shrubb and has almost 500 signatures to date.

Ms Kayes is eager for the town to unite and move forward.

She said: “Brexit has produced a lot of division and conflict within communities all over the UK.

“I really hope we can draw a line under this now and move forward united as a town. I’m very thankful for all the support I’ve received from some wonderful people.”

Ms Kayes has gained the backing of the Dorset Liberal Democrats group, which claims she has been the victim of a “public attack”.

A spokeswoman said: “The Liberal Democrat group at Dorset County Council deplores the recent public attacks on our colleague, county councillor and Mayor of Bridport, Ros Kayes, for her expression of concern in a recent letter to the press about the racist tone of some of the publicity over the EU referendum.‎

“Liberal Democrats deplore racism and party leader Tim Farron has also expressed disquiet about the tone of this campaign. We would like to express our wholehearted support for Ros’s Liberal values and the excellent work she does in supporting her community.”

The Green Party has also expressed its support.

The West and South Dorset Green Party chairman of the branch and fellow town councillor Kelvin Clayton said: “Local members of the Green Party wish to express their support for the Mayor of Bridport, Ros Kayes.

“We totally support both the general sentiment and the anger expressed by Ros in her comment on social media regarding the EU referendum.”